Assets Depreciate

Forwarded by friend and I don't have the rights to the picture. Hereby only sharing the great work of the rightful owner for personal purpose. Should you want to use it for commercial purposes, please contact rightful owners and never infringe the rights.

Promotion Vs Responsibility

Forwarded by friend and I don't have the rights to the picture. Hereby only sharing the great work of the rightful owner for personal purpose. Should you want to use it for commercial purposes, please contact rightful owners and never infringe the rights.

Cambodia, Siem Reap (Part 4 of 4)

We had lunch at Banyan Tree Restaurant on our way from Kampong Cham to Siem Reap. This place looked presentable and appealing. It also has clean toilets. There were many foreigners having lunch when we chanced by this place. They were also on their way to Siem Reap and the coach they were in had stopped by here for them to take their lunch. Pricing is considered reasonable for foreigner, but otherwise for a local. I don't think this restaurant is in anyway related to the famous Banyan Tree Resort.

Banyan Tree Restaurant

We reached Siem Reap in the evening and need to find a place for dinner fast enough before we run our night programme for the children at MIKI Home.
(https://www.facebook.com/MikiHomeCambodia‎.) Near to MIKI Home at Siem Reap, there wasn't a eatery big enough to cater our group of 16. Most of the eateries only have seats for a few people. Hence we have to make do with this only place for dinner that was about to close for the day. Guess what, the local food was surprisingly nice.

Makan House near Thunborey Hotel

We had a day off at Siem Reap. We did our visitation to some attractions in Siem Reap and also took the opportunity to try out the eateries. Cool Corner Pizza Restaurant served both local and western food. Nice food, nice ambience, reasonable pricing and free WIFI. I will surely visit this place when I visit Cambodia again. It is nearby to the Old Market.

Cool Corner Pizza Restaurant

Father's Restaurant (http://www.fathersrestaurant.com/) has both asian and western dishes, it also served very nice local dishes, Khmer. As far as I can recall. Almost all the food we had eaten was presentable and nice. Go for the safer choice of either chicken or fish, as beef is usually overcooked.

Father's Restaurant

Away from the buzz of the night market and pub street, Thunborey Hotel is not far from it. Just a short walk and you can reach Old Market, shop and eat into the night. The hotel didn't look appealing from the outside, but it was not so from the inside.

Thunborey Hotel

Happening near our hotel

Structures near Old Market

Old Market

Night Market cum Pub Street

It was still early after dinner at Father's Restaurant. So we went for some ice-cream at The Blue Pumpkin to be re-charged for second round of night shopping.

The Blue Pumpkin

One of the mission activities at Siem Reap was to bring the children from MIKI Home for an excursion to The Silk Farm. It was very meaningful and the children were very obedient and attentive during the excursion trip. Guess we benefited from it as well, visiting one of the attraction in Cambodia.

The Silk Farm

During R&R at Siem Reap, we visited Kampong Pluk Floating Village, Angkor Wat and Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom.

Kampong Pluk Floating Village

Angkor Wat

Bayon Temple of Angkor Thom

I realised I was so ignorant. I thought the ruin was only Angkor Wat. The whole Angkor area is quite huge, with many other ruins at the Angkor complex. I would want to visit this place again to personally experience the many ruins that was not refurnish. Passes are sold in one-day (US$20), three-day (US$40) and seven-day (US$60) blocks that must be used on consecutive days. Visiting hours are 5:00AM - 6:00PM. Angkor Wat closes at 6:00PM, Banteay Srey closes at 5:00PM and Kbal Spean at 3:00PM. Always carry your ticket. It will be checked upon each park entry and at major temples. There is a significant fine for not possessing a valid ticket inside the park.

http://www.tourismcambodia.org/images/multimedia/angkor_map.jpg

To know more about places of interest in Cambodia, do check out the following website showing the attractions by province.

http://www.tourismcambodia.org/provincial_guide/index.php?view=places#comp

http://www.tourismcambodia.com/travelguides/

Admit Mistake And Earn Respect

Forwarded by friend and I don't have the rights to the picture. Hereby only sharing the great work of the rightful owner for personal purpose. Should you want to use it for commercial purposes, please contact rightful owners and never infringe the rights.

Cambodia, Kampong Cham (Part 3 of 4)

In Kampong Cham, we helped to give out rice, sugar and salt to the poor and the needy. They are living in poverty, houses without walls to keep the cold away. I wonder where did they keep their valuables. We are really a bunch of fortunate and blessed people to have a proper house to stay.

House 1

House 2

House 3

These were the two places (Ampil Church and Prekpor Church) where 16 of us slept with our own sleeping bags, when at Kampong Cham. I noticed that most of the houses are built high, guess is to counter flood that does happen in the land. Don't you think our bases give a rustic resort feel. But minus the nice toilet facilities and electricity you can get in a rustic resort.

Our base at Kampong Cham

While travelling to a remote village where our tuk tuk couldn't bring us in due to the muddy road condition, we had to trek an hour through the 'small forest' and plantation. It was a worthwhile trek because we were greeted with hidden nature beauty of Cambodia.We were surprised to see beautiful river and caulifower plantation. The children on the opposite band were waiting enthusiastically for us to cross the river. They were so friendly and cheerful. I was touched by their hospitality.

Hidden nature

When at Ampil Church, this was one of the R&R we managed to have in between our tight schedules. We have to be careful not to slip as we walked down the slope to get onto the sampan to cross the river to the opposite side of the river. Over the other side of the river band were plantation.

R&R Island-hop

Prekpor Church was surrounded by sugar cane plantation and padi fields. We managed to have a short R&R to the plantations before dinner. It was my first time walking through these plantations and seeing sunset in the midst of the plantation. What a treat!

R&R sugar cane and padi plantation

Promotion Comes When Resign

Forwarded by friend and I don't have the rights to the picture. Hereby only sharing the great work of the rightful owner for personal purpose. Should you want to use it for commercial purposes, please contact rightful owners and never infringe the rights.

Cambodia (Part 2 of 4)

I had an opportunity to visit Cambodia last year  2013 in December, thanks to a mission trip to the country. We touched down at Phnom Penh International Airport, stayed a few days at Kampong Cham (at Ampil and Prekpor) for first part of the trip before we travelled up to Siem Reap.

Phnom Penh International Airport

Hearsay from others that if one wants to visit Cambodia, Siem Reap is preferred over Phnom Penh, as Siem Reap is more developed and organised due to tourism. Simply based on the comparison between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap International Airports, I do conclude that there is some truth to what others had commented about the preference of Siem Reap over Phnom Penh.

Siem Reap International Airport

Siem Reap International Airport

Cambodia gives about the same feel as in Bangkok, Phuket, Krabi, and Vietnam. The people are more friendly compare to Thailand. The following may not be something new, yet one surely can't find them in Singapore. You can read more about the places of interest in my third and fourth posts about Cambodia.

Pump Petrol

Tuk Tuk

Tuk Tuk

Vehicle for the fields

Horse-cart

Money Vs Loyalty

Forwarded by friend and I don't have the rights to the picture. Hereby only sharing the great work of the rightful owner for personal purpose. Should you want to use it for commercial purposes, please contact rightful owners and never infringe the rights.

Cambodia (Part 1 of 4)

Language

Khmer is the official language of Cambodia. English is widely spoken and understood. English and French are popular second languages and Chinese is the third.

Currency

The national currency is Cambodian Riel (KHR). US dollars are commonly used. Most hotels and many restaurants and shops set their prices in dollars. Small transactions are usually done in Riel. Always carry some small Riel for motorcycle taxis, snacks, beggars and other small purchases. Riel notes come in 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, 50,000 and 100,000 denominations, but the distinctive red 500 Riel note is the most commonly used. 1 USD = 4000 Riels for easy conversion.

Climate

Cambodia’s climate is hot and warm almost all year round. The climate is dominated by the annual monsoon cycle of rainy and dry seasons. The rainy season lasts from May to October, and the dry season from November to April. December to January are the coolest months, while the hottest period is in April. The average temperature is around 27-28ºC.

Attire

Lightweight, loose-fitting, cotton clothing for the dry season. During the rainy season, bring a light rain poncho (plastic ponchos can be purchased cheaply in Cambodia) or a sturdy umbrella. A light jacket or cardigan will come in handy during the months of December and January, when temperatures are at their coolest. When visiting outdoor temples, including those of Angkor Wat, shorts and T-shirts are acceptable. Shoes and hats are generally removed at the entrance to pagodas. For visits to the Silver Pagoda, which is within the Royal Palace grounds. visitors are asked to dress more formally. Gentlemen are required to wear long trousers and ladies should wear long trousers or long skirts and keep their shoulders covered.

Electricity

Electricity in Cambodia is at the same voltage as in Singapore at 230V, 50Hz. The power plugs used are of the two- pin flat blade (Type A North America), two-pin round (Type C Europe) or three-pin square-shaped (Type G UK).

Internet Access

Currently free Wi-Fi is available at most hotels, restaurants, Mini Mart, Café and shopping mall.

Tipping

Although it is not necessary to tip, a dollar or two is the norm and this applies to any form of service rendered across the board. The receiver, the service provider, is usually very appreciative and you can tell the gratitude for your gratitude from the sweet smile on the face.

Timor Leste (2013)

I was back to Timor Leste in Oct 2013. Not much changes to the country with UN being pull out from the country. Life still goes on as normal. What was noticeable was hardly any vehicles into the villages as we drove into the villages. I then realised it was the absence of the UN vehicles. The road conditions are slightly improve making the drive into the villages a bit easier. One significant impact is the price hike at about 20% for meals and accommodation since one or two years ago.

Menu

We chanced by this Pintang Restaurant, selling a variety of food. Nice food and reasonable pricing. Do drop by an give it a try. We are too hungry by then and forgotten to take any photos of the nice food we had. So far I still did not get the chance to visit Plaza Timor. It has WIFI and a spacious food court.